A busy weekend

We had a great Yarn Roundtable on Friday night. 5 really different yarns, a full house, and a guest in from out of town.

This guest and I, we have fun when we're together. We also do lots of work on Knitty in between the laughing and the trying not to buy really great shoes and the drinking of a coffee or two. We got some great stuff done this time.

Meanwhile, we also did these neat things [all pics are iPhone pics...not the clearest, but they'll have to do]:

Spun standing up at the back of The Purple Purl while Roundtable was going on. That's THE Denny, spinning on her brand-new charkha, gifted to her by a big group of her friends, instigated by that guest woman! Said guest is seen here spinning on her new Journey Wheel. Both wheels were purchased from a woman who was done with spinning, and that made these two women very happy. Everything goes round and round in this world, eh?

Stopped by guest's favorite glass shop...Tank Fire + Metal. They make such glass beads [there should be a better word for the beads they make. The are SO much more than beads] and things with their glass. Guest indulged in something skullish. I went for the earrings I've been looking at in the shop for months. Icy blue-green, transparent discs on silver ear wires.

That afternoon, we stopped by a really cool fabric shop that I'd wanted to visit for months. I'd been reading the owner's blog and loved her style and choice of fabrics. Found some great fabric, and wanted to see if they had or or could order another version that I'd seen on teh interwebs. And was treated by the boss (I'm assuming, since I was directed to her by the nice girl behind the cash) as if I'd asked her to wipe my tushy. That so rarely happens, but it really was disappointing. There are so many nice ways to say, "no, I'm sorry -- I can't get that in" that don't have to make a customer feel bad for asking, you know?

The afternoon was beautifully redeemed by a visit to our new favorite Roncesvalles coffeehouse, Tinto. Guest, other Amy and me Amy brought our wheels inside, found an empty space, and spun the afternoon away. We also got to enjoy their sweet potato/black bean/cheese burrito and good coffee. And the servers were all charming as hell, amused or curious about what we were doing, and we felt very welcome to stay. Yay for Tinto! We'll be back for sure.

In a stunning turn of events, I walked out on a Toronto Police Office ticketing my car, because I'd been too late to get to the meter and refresh. I told him I was just coming to do that and...get this...HE TOOK THE TICKET OFF. I have never had a police officer do that in Toronto and was absolutely gobsmacked. Bought the refresher ticket, of course, and thanked the man.

Then it was Earth Hour, and guest and I pulled out our spindles and spun by candlelight. Quite effective, I thought

Finally, guest, THE Denny and I went to Milestone's for a frozen Bellini -- oh, yeah, and some dinner -- and then a movie. The three of us can attest that Duplicity is huge fun to watch and has made us all love Julia Roberts again. Clive Owen has always been in our love universe, and he is fab in this, as always.

Okay, so that's the weekend recap in pictures. A rather full one for frequent-homebody me, and I loved it. Guest has taken the train home and the house is too quiet without her. That'll last about an hour, and then the phone will ring and all will be well.

It's Monday! I say we all have a great week! Who's with me?

Knitty Yarn Roundtable Nights top 10 list!

Top 10 reasons you want to go to one of the upcoming Knitty Yarn Roundtable Nights, held in Toronto each month.

10. There is yarn there.

9. You get to knit with the new! yarn and no one yells at you for playing with stuff you didn't buy.

8. It's a little like speed dating, but with yarn.

7. And nibbles.

6. And REALLY good coffee [the Purple Purl makes an excellent latte, or perhaps you want to try a Purly Fog?]

5. You get to play with ALL the yarn at the event, not just some of it.

4. At the end of the evening, there are door prizes and a lot of them, too. We try to work it so that no one leaves empty handed. How rockin is that?

3. The Purple Purl is a great place to hang out, and if you've never been, this is a great reason to visit!

2. There are other secret benefits to attending, but you have to actually come to find out what they are.

1. There is absolutely not a large dish of mashed rutabagas you must eat in order to participate. [I'm sorry, but I'm just not a fan of the rutabaga. The word rutabaga, though? That I love.]

So there you have it.

All Yarn Roundtable events are held at
The Purple Purl
1162 Queen St. E.
Toronto, ON
416 463 1162

How can you be a part of this rutabaga-free event? Simple! Just visit the Knitty Yarn Roundtable Nights blog and leave a comment on one of our three upcoming events. All the rest of the details are on the blog postings.

See you there!

are you going to one of Neil Gaiman's upcoming signings? and more about all sorts of yarn!

He's not coming anywhere near Canada, but he IS going all over the US and onwards. Does anyone who reads this blog plan on going and getting an autographed copy of the new Graveyard Book? If so, would it be possible for you to buy a copy of his book for me and have it signed, too? Of course I'll pay the cost of the book, postage and I'll send you some beauty yarn as a thank you.

For those who love Neil, but didn't know about the tour, here is a post with all the dates/times/locations:

Neil Gaiman's Journal: The Graveyard Book Tour

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We are just a few days away from the next Yarn Roundtable and we have a few spaces left. If you're going to be in Toronto this Thursday night, we'd love to have you join us! Visit the Yarn Roundtable blog and leave a comment to the September post to RSVP.

I have heard rumors about a home-baked chocolate cake making an appearance. It would be criminal to miss it.

Wanna get your mitts on some yarn?

There's no better way than to attend one of our Knitty Yarn Roundtable Nights! I've just announced the next cycle of openings -- September, October and November. You can RSVP for one of the events in the cycle...this is the fairest way to give everyone a chance to play. Instructions on how to RSVP are on the Yarn Roundtable blog.

Did you know:
- Everyone gets to knit all 5 yarns at each event
- Many of these yarns will be new to you, some will be old friends
- The Purple Purl -- our hosts -- makes great coffee, tea and has amazing baked goods.
- Everyone goes home with a little something...and sometimes a big something. There are always door prizes at Knitty events, you know!
- It doesn't matter where you live; if you can get to Toronto for the event, we would love to have you! We've had guests from all over the US and Canada!

Wanna see the results of previous Yarn Roundtable nights? Peek here and here!

Knitty Yarn Roundtable nights -- June, July & August dates announced!

Do you know about Knitty's Yarn Roundtable evenings? If you're in the Toronto area, or will be in the next three months, you could join in!

We've added virtual yarn sampling to Knitty. In the spirit of Knitty, these events are a social, collaborative project where a group of us will gather around an assortment of yarns from just about every yarn company on the planet, and get to touch, swatch, fondle and tell the world what you think of the yarn. We want to share our favorites with our readers and let them know about surprises that knit up much differently than the average knitter would expect from just looking or squeezing a ball. As is the custom with Knitty, stuff we don't like won't appear in our pages.

Jacquie B. [goddess of all things organized and fun] and I will be there as secretaries and social butterflies for the evenings, gathering your comments and evaluating which yarns will end up in the Yarn Roundtable feature each issue.

We'll be holding the Yarn Roundtable nights at the fabulous, friendly The Purple Purl [1162 Queen St. E. Toronto]. 30 knitters are welcome at each evening, and in order to let as many people as possible have a chance to participate, you can RSVP for only 1 event in every cycle [that's 3 months]. We hold these events monthly (or almost) so there will be lots of chances for everyone to swatch the good stuff!

There's a lot of organization involved in keeping this event tidy and making sure it can run smoothly. Your assistance in following all instructions is very much appreciated!

We've set up a blog just for RSVPs. Each event has its own blog post. To RSVP, simply read the instructions for that evening and if you're eligible, leave a comment to that post. The blog is here. Go forth and be orderly, but with amusement!

Knitty Yarn Roundtable nights -- 3 new dates available for RSVP!

You haven't seen the feature yet in Knitty, but we've been collecting content for a while now, and it will go live in the next issue. What is it?

Here:
Starting with the spring '08 issue, we're adding virtual yarn sampling to Knitty. In the spirit of Knitty, this will be a social, collaborative project where a group of us will gather around an assortment of yarns from just about every yarn company on the planet, and get to touch, swatch, fondle and tell the world what you think of the yarn. We want to share our favorites with our readers and let them know about surprises that knit up much differently than the average knitter would expect from just looking or squeezing a ball. As is the custom with Knitty, stuff we don't like won't appear in our pages.

Jacquie B. [goddess of all things organized and fun] and I will be there as secretaries and social butterflies for the evenings, gathering your comments and evaluating which yarns will end up in the Yarn Roundtable feature each issue.

We'll be holding the Yarn Roundtable nights at the fabulous, friendly The Purple Purl [1162 Queen St. E. Toronto]. 30 knitters are welcome at each evening, and in order to let as many people as possible have a chance to participate, you can RSVP for only one event in a row. So if you were at January's event, you can RSVP to the 2nd or 3rd of the three I announce today, but not the first. We're planning to hold these monthly (or almost) so there will be lots of chances for everyone to swatch the good stuff!

There's a lot of organization involved in keeping this event tidy and making sure it can run smoothly. Your assistance in following all instructions is very much appreciated!

We've set up a blog just for RSVPs [so that non-Facebook users need not be excluded]. Each event has its own blog post. To RSVP, simply read the instructions for that evening and if you're eligible, leave a comment to that post.

The blog is here. Go forth and be orderly, but with amusement!

Can you get to Toronto? Here's why you wanna...

Starting with the fall issue, we're adding virtual yarn tasting to Knitty. In the spirit of Knitty, this will be a social, collaborative project where a group of us will gather around a huge basket of yarns from just about every yarn company on the planet, and get to touch, swatch, fondle and tell the world what you think of the yarn. We want to share our favorites with our readers and let them know about surprises that knit up much differently than the average knitter would expect from just looking or squeezing a ball. As is the custom with Knitty, stuff we don't like won't appear in our pages.

I'll be there as secretary and social butterfly for the evening, gathering your comments and evaluating which yarns will end up in the Yarn Roundtable feature each issue. We'll be holding the Yarn Roundtable nights at Alterknit -- a great and great-big space that's much nicer than their website [sorry, Terri, but it's true :-)]. They've got room for as many people as I hope will come [up to 20 per evening], and they also have refreshments available.

You want to come, don't you? We hope you'll join us! I've started a group at Facebook which you'll find here. Just click the link and join! Everyone is welcome. We'll probably hold two nights per quarter...maybe more. We'll see how it goes! If you're in Toronto or close enough to drive here, it's easy for you. For non-locals who occasionally drop in, sign up anyway just in case we cleverly [accidentally] schedule an evening when you'll happen to be here!

I'll be posting on the group's discussion board on the Facebook site about our first event, so join now!

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P.S. First event scheduled: Friday, July 20, at Alterknit. 7pm -- RSVP here!